19 Cosmic Path

Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.

—Albus Dumbledore

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Hypnos sat on his throne in Dreaming, penning new laws and regulations into the fabric of his realm with the golden book in his hand. He had opted to return to his realm after the banquet to work on his creation for the remainder of the night.

He had also brought Mnemosyne, his new subordinate, with him, introducing her to her new home, and then he began to guide her, granting her new knowledge on the nature of divinity to support her on her path.

Hypnos noticed that most immortals do not truly understand the scope of their abilities; instead, they choose to solely focus on the simpler element of their power—the world.

As his father put it, gods could manipulate elements of the world and cosmos with their divinities—emphasis on cosmos. They could indeed manipulate the nature of the cosmos with their divinities, though only to a limited extent.

However, the cosmic path would be countless times more difficult than the world path for immortals; after all, they are not the Primordials, and it would be difficult for them even to connect with the cosmos. Most gods may not even have the capacity to take the first step on the cosmic path. Considering this, it does explain why the cosmic aspect of divinity was not well known among the divine pantheons.

Anyway, Hypnos began guiding Mnemosyne on her cosmic path. He instructed her to combine both of her divinities—memories and linguistics—by pouring all of her powers into her words and willing them to influence reality.

This was similar to the divine words used by Egyptian magicians, though far more potent and unrestricted. Nevertheless, both of these abilities stem from the same source: the concept of language.

Hypnos therefore taught Mnemosyne the principles of her conceptual power, and she was astounded to discover that her "weak" divinities had such immense potential. Though he wasn't sure if Mnemosyne was cut out for the cosmic path, his hesitation faded after witnessing her burning determination to grow her strength, and he decided to continue teaching her, guiding her on her first step—training her power of words only in her dreams, since there was no better place to practise reality-altering powers other than dreams.

He finally watched as she entered her dream and eagerly began her training, and then he returned to his throne room after receiving a quick report from Alexandria.

Hypnos eventually returned to his throne and summoned the golden law book, focusing solely on his creation...

Oh, who was he kidding?!

Hypnos abruptly closed the golden book and tossed it into his personal space. Then he reclined in his throne with his hands covering his face and a prolonged sigh escaping his lips.

All of his previous words contained a fallacy; he was indeed doing all of that, but his attention was frequently slipping back to a woman, a woman who haunted his mind.

Hera.

Oh, Hera.

The unforgettable dance between Hypnos and Hera eventually ended. He didn't even get a chance to speak to her afterwards since her family flocked to her, especially Demeter, who literally dragged Hera away from him and towards their mother, Rhea.

Hera looked at him with reluctance, but he could tell she was pretty overwhelmed by everything that had happened, just like him, so he sent her away to her for some well-needed family time and exited the main hall, bringing the unforgettable banquet to a close.

After that, Hypnos went to his domain, but Hera continued to haunt him in his thoughts. His mind kept flashing back to their eternal journey. Especially their kiss on the moon—that unforgettable moment—was forever burned into his mind. He could still taste the aftertaste of her sweet lips on his, stirring his desire even more.

All in all, yesterday night truly became one of the most unforgettable moments of his life.

Hypnos sighed again as he gazed at the gliding galaxies on the cosmic ceiling. Looking at it, his thoughts once again decided to return to their eternal journey, to the times he held her lithe body in his embrace, to the times her brilliant eyes were all his to witness, to the times her sweet lips were on his.....

He really liked Hera, didn't he?…..

It was painfully obvious by this point.

Unfortunately, his lovelorn thoughts were cut short by a tinge in his perception—someone was attempting to enter his unopened realm.

Compassing himself back together, Hypnos leaned to the front of his throne, already knowing who the intruder was. He waved his hand, changing the ongoing teleportation straight to his throne room.

A swirl of starry sand emerged beneath his throne, and from inside it, the Goddess of Magic, stepped gracefully into his royal room.

Hecate greeted. "Lord Hypnos."

"Hecate," Hypnos acknowledged, ambiguously gazing at her. "Have you made up your mind?"

"Yes," Hecate nodded, a slight hesitation visible on her face.

"What is it?" Hypnos frowned and cupped his chin in his palm.

"Lord Hypnos, I request clarification on your previous words," Hecate finally inquired, carefully studying his reaction. "especially on the part of freedom."

Hypnos squinted at the goddess of magic. He finally realised why he had felt a sense of familiarity with her magic—it was the same desire for freedom that was resonating with his spirit. "Freedom is never easy to obtain, Hecate, especially as a god," he said coolly. "though in my realm, you will be able to obtain a part of it. I cannot break the restrictions and limitations placed on you since they are beyond my power, but I can reduce their hold on you to a large extent within my realm since I make the rules and laws here. And don't worry, I won't limit your freedom as long as you remain loyal to me."

"Thank you," Hecate said gratefully.

"Don't mention it," Hypnos waved his hand dismissively. "If you accept my offer, you will be my subordinate; it is the least I can do."

"So, Hecate, what is your final decision?"

Hecate peered at him firmly. "I, Hecate, Lady Magic, swear my undying loyalty to you, Hypnos, Primordial of Sleep and Lord of Dream," she declared.

Hypnos floated down from his throne. "Welcome, Hecate," he said, standing in front of her.

"It is an honour, my lord." Hecate bowed her head.

"I'll now give you a brief tour of your new home as well as an introductory class." Hypnos continued as he began walking towards the colossal door at the end of the throne room.

"Class?" As she followed him, Hecate blinked.

Hypnos ignored her question. "You have a colleague as well," he said as he opened the door.

"She'd be ecstatic to meet you."

"So, let's get this started, shall we?"

Hecate nodded silently as she followed Hypnos into the depths of Dreaming, her dark eyes sparkling with a stirring desire.

A desire known as Freedom....

——————

Next day, early morning.

The light of Helios shone through the flowing curtains, lighting an exquisite and grandiose room in the centre of the Olympus.

Hypnos and Hecate descended in the centre of the room, bathed in sunlight with a shimmer of reality. This was his temporary residence in Olympus, assigned to him by Rhea, who boasted that it had been built for the most honoured guests.

"Here." Hypnos removed a starry insignia from his robes and gave it to Hecate. "This contains my aura. It will let others know you are my attendant."

He had taken Hecate on the mandatory introductory course for the rest of the previous night. They went through the brief tour of Dreaming, and then he began to teach her about divinity, and as he expected, Hecate wasn't really surprised by the cosmic nature of divinity. After that, they ran into Mnemosyne, who was overjoyed to see Hecate, another Titaness. She didn't seem to mind that Hecate was also a chthonic being.

Finally, Hecate followed him back to Olympus alone since Mnesmosyne was so psyched up about her training that she didn't want to do anything else. And she was making progress as well, so Hypnos sent her back into her sweet dreams before teleporting to the abode of the gods.

Hecate nodded, accepting the starry badge, and an ephemeral aura wrapped her, bringing serenity and tranquilly to her and everything around her.

"Come on," Hypnos said, motioning towards the door. "Let's go and meet our dependents. We have much to change here."

Hecate composed herself and followed Hypnos with a slight sense of curiosity since it was her first time on Olympus. She was an ally of the Gods, but because of her status as a Chthonic Goddess, she was never properly recognised by them. So she didn't bother to travel to this dreary place, instead only sending them indirect help under Destiny's guidance.

Hypnos opened the door and was immediately met with a sight that almost took his breath away. The ethereal woman who had haunted his thoughts was pacing outside his room, restlessly biting her nails. Her previously braided hair had been let down, flowing freely like waves in the darkest night, and she wore a new gown—a black gown with golden veins that shimmered in light like sun rays in space. A golden necklace hung around her elegant neck, asserting her unearthly beauty all the more.

Oh, Hera.

Hera turned towards him as if she had heard his thought, and a wave of joy and relief swept through her entire being. "Hypnos—" she came to an abrupt halt, noticing the presence of another woman standing next to him. "Who is this?" she demanded, her gaze narrowing at Hecate with obvious dislike.

Hecate merely raised her brow at Hera. She was obviously surprised at how the daughter of Rhea was audaciously addressing her lord by his name, but she didn't bother to rebuke Hera since her Lord didn't seem to mind her disrespect; rather, his lips rose from a smile that seemed genuine and also a little...playful.

Hypnos nodded to Hecate. The Goddess of Magic reciprocated, recalling his previous words, and strode along the corridor to the main hall, leaving Hypnos and Hera alone. He had just sent her to notify Zeus of his summons. He planned to begin training the future King of Gods as early as today.

Zeus was going to be his student. Even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined this kind of development, but here it was. The cosmos truly works in wonderful ways.

Hypnos dragged a vexed Hera into his room after sending Hecate away, closing the door totally with his powers on the way.

"Don't ignore me, Hypnos." Hera drawled as he dragged her to the chairs on the far side of the lavish room.

Hypnos took a seat and guided Hera to sit in front of him, who, despite her chagrin, followed obediently. "What?" he finally replied, a playful smile on his lips. "Are you jealous?"

Seeing his playful smile, Hera reclined in her seat, her tensed shoulders sagging, her fearful heart settling. But she didn't let her expression change. "Who is that woman?" she demanded again.

"She is my attendant." Hypnos stopped playing with her since, despite her best efforts to conceal it, he could still feel her tension and fear—she was most likely afraid that he had cheated on her. He wasn't surprised by his guess because they were in a relationship in all but name. "Hecate, the Goddess of Magic."

"I know her," Hera said thoughtfully, finally calming down with his response. "She is that chthonic goddess that often sends armies of spirits to aid us."

"Yet," Hypnos asked, tilting his head with faux curiosity. "Your family did not recognise her."

It was not only Hecate; all of the chthonic divine beings on the side of the gods were left unrecognised for their efforts in the ongoing war.

Hera shifted stiffly in her seat. "There must have been a mishap," she said. "I will see to it that Hecate receives the recognition she deserves."

"Anyway," Hypnos continued, shifting the subject. He didn't want to spend the rest of his time with Hera pursuing justice for the other Chthonic gods. He just couldn't bring himself to bother. "You were so worried outside, what happened?"

"We need to talk," Hera said silently.

"We really need to," said Hypnos, "don't we?"

"You go first then," Hera immediately suggested, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

"No," Hypnos said as he leaned forward in his seat, gently clasping her hands. "I can wait; you go first."

Hera was silent for a moment, clasping his hands thoroughly. Then she breathed out. "Fine," she said, taking a deep breath and looking him in the eyes with firmness and solemnity. "Hypnos..." she began, her voice brimming with raw emotion.

"Will you marry me?"

Those four words. Those. Four. Words. They slashed into his mind like cosmic lightning, rattling his actual being for a split second.

"No," Hypnos immediately replied. He didn't even bother to consider it. To him, the answer to her question was as clear as a dream.

Hera appeared shaken, her hands resting heavily on the armrest for support as his answer weighed heavily on her. "Why?" she exclaimed, her gaze fixed on him, desperately searching for an answer.

"What why?!" Hypnos felt the outrageousness of this situation. "This is marriage we are taking out!" he reclined in his seat, placing his hands over his face in exasperation. "Do we love each other?" he continued, reconsidering everything.

"First and foremost, what are we?"

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